Free Learning Disabilities Resources

Local School District: Homeschoolers can get screening tests and some services through the school district for free. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 2004) distributes funding to the school districts for private school and homeschool students. Each school district has a set amount of funding available (and it’s different amounts from one district to the next). Depending on how many students access that—determines how much services the district can offer. Contact: your local school district “child find” or “special services” coordinator.

However, the diagnosis is workable without the school.

In fact, many homeschoolers don’t want the school’s help or advice on the matter. There is no legal obligation to notify or involve the school if you don’t want to.

Understood.org is a great place to start investigating your child’s learning issue. It’s a free, national resource hub. Tune in for weekly webinars and live chats with experts on various learning disabilities.
Understood has developed Thru Your Child’s Eyes simulator to show you how your child views the world and why they are getting frustrated. You select the child’s age and learning issue to personalize the simulation.

Gifted Homeschoolersis a website devoted to giftedness. Many students are actually Twice Exceptional (2E), but are not recognized. Most gifted children are developmentally asynchronous, but when the unevenness in their abilities is significant a child is considered “Twice Exceptional.” This means the child is both gifted and has identified learning differences or other emotional or mental health disorders. Often, children who are twice exceptional are misdiagnosed or one of their diagnoses is overlooked by the adults around them.

Local Special Needs and Learning Disabilities Programs

South Carolina has a number of programs available thru public and private funding. A very thorough list is provided at Hands on Health. These programs are not specifically geared toward homeschoolers, but I list them here so you can investigate these avenues of assistance.

Family Connections of SC offer a variety of resources to address your questions and concerns on the complex healthcare, mental health, and educational systems you must navigate. Families with shared experiences are uniquely able to offer support, guidance and encouragement to those traveling a similar journey. Whether you’re just beginning your journey or have a question along the way, Family Connections can help find the best solutions for your family.

National Institute of Learning Development (NILD) is a therapy program that does for the brain what physical therapy does for the muscles. It’s more than just a tutoring program. But, I highly recommend it. They were the first ones to encourage me and assure me that I wasn’t crazy—that my daughter’s issues were from a learning disability. The school testing and diagnosis told me that my daughter just had a low IQ…and it was good that I could work one-on-one with her since they could not qualify her for any services.
NILD does screening tests and can recommend some homeschool curriculums that would be better for specific learning issues.
Columbia: Discovery Therapies 8807 Two Notch Road, Suite I, Columbia, SC 29223
phone: 803-419-0126
Mauldin/Greenville: The Pearl Center for Learning 410 E Butler Rd., Suite B, Mauldin, SC 29662
phone: 864-675-9200
Florence: The King’s Academy 1015 S Ebenezer Rd. Florence, SC 29501
phone: 843-661-7464 ext 17
Find more therapists in your area: NILD Find a Therapist

Homeschooling the Special Needs Child is a private consultant service who offers a variety of special needs services. Susan Blackwell knows homeschooling and can help get you set up with curricula ideas, accommodations, methods of evaluation, and resources to help shoulder the load of this homeschooling journey.
Local office in West Columbia, but will also travel within SC for individual testing.
Contact Susan Blackwell 803-794-6908 or 803-429-3899

Learning Ally Directory of Specialists in South Carolina who can evaluate individuals for learning, physical and/or visual disabilities. Other states are also listed where you can find a specialist near you.

Online Learning Disabilities Resources
and Special Needs Programs

If you don’t live near any of the local learning disability resources, there are some online programs that can be adapted to help your homeschool student.

Audioblox is a fundamental solution to dyslexia and other learning difficulties. This multisensory brain-training program that enables learners to overcome learning obstacles and reach their full potential. Specific brain-training exercises can strengthen these weaknesses leading to increased performance in reading, spelling, writing, math and learning.

Barton Readingis a great tutoring system for children, teenagers, or adults who struggle with spelling, reading, and writing due to dyslexia or a learning disability. Tutor training videos train the tutor how to implement the lessons with the student.

CurrClickis another great place for special needs resources. Printable e-books are just a click away.

Dyslexia Advantage promotes an understanding of the advantage side of dyslexia. Children discover how they learn and remember best. Scientific research shows that dyslexics process information differently from non-dyslexics. Some of these changes may account for strengths in creative problem solving, entrepreneurial thinking, and certain types of learning and memory.

National Autism Resources Inc is a global leader in providing cost-effective, research-based therapeutic tools that meet the needs of people on the autism spectrum across their lifespan since 2008. Tools and adaptive technologies work together to improve skills and significantly decrease impairment.

SPED Homeschool has special education curriculum resources, support groups and consultants to help you locate the information you need to DIY your child’s home education.

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Homeschool veteran, Association Director, coffee addict, sarcasm expert, and accidental blogger. I'm here to encourage you thru the tough times and inspire you toward excellence. If I can make it, so can you!

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